The athlete, who is the reigning U.S. National Silver Medalist, defended her words in the mag on twitter, when one site took the piece like Ashley was apologizing for even being in the sport to begin with.

She wasn’t — at all.

“Let’s be clear, I’m making no apologies for my sport!” Ashley wrote on Twitter. “I’m excited to take this opportunity to showcase the athleticism of skating.”

Definitely read Ashley‘s essay, which will give you more appreciation for figure skating and Ashley.

Ashley is also pictured below with BFF, fellow skater and choreographer Adam Rippon, and gymnast Aly Raisman, at the BODY at ESPYs Party in Hollywood on Tuesday (July 11).

The two top skaters have withdrawn from the competition after sustaining injuries. Adam actually broke his foot during a warm up session for practice.

“This injury is not career ending. it’s very low on the spectrum of severity of injuries people have come back from,” Adam wrote on Twitter in a note to his fans.

However, he’s preparing to “be off the ice for the next 8-12 weeks.” That also puts him out of the running for worlds.

Polina, who nabbed the silver medal at last year’s competition, also withdrew because of her injury — a bone bruise in her right foot that has kept her out all season.

“I’m disappointed that I will miss the 2017 U.S. Championships and wish all the athletes good luck in Kansas City,” she shared in a statement. “I will continue to focus on my health and look forward to a full return to ice.”

We’re sad that we won’t get to see what would’ve been amazing programs on the ice from Adam and Polina. JJJ wishes them well in their recovery.

“It’s not a choice a lot of other teams are making, but it really allows us to show our leg lines and movement and really just skate freely,” Maiashared of wearing pants for their short dance.

She added, “It was a collective thought from the group that created the program, and it’s one thing to have the idea, but it takes confidence to wear pants out there, and I have that now! So it’s just fun.”

“I didn’t think about how important it was for me to win or anything, just kept going from jump to jump,” Javier shared with press afterwards. “It was not easy [to skate a clean program], but I got my mind really set to do it.”

“I feel like because I lost last year in this competition, I have to have revenge,” Yuzuru told press ahead of the competition.

His coach, Brian Orser, added, “[Hanyu] wants to win more than anything. It didn’t sit well with him [last year]. The only consolation was that it was Javi that won. That was a little easier pill to swallow. But he wants to win, and so does Javi. They’re both capable of winning.”

The Men’s Free Program will air Friday, April 1st @ 6:45PM. Check your local listings for the channel.

“The international scene is so strong and it’s getting stronger every single year and I think that it is never a question of whether or not the U.S. ladies are capable of being on that podium; it’s more a question of when we’re going to step up to that challenge,” Ashley shared about the particularly competitive ladies competition.

She added, “This year is going to be about going out there and nailing those triple-triple combinations, nailing those technical marks, performing the hell out of those programs. That is what’s going to get us onto the world podium, and that is a lot to ask of one person, but I think we’re definitely capable of putting that out.”

The 2016 World Figure Skating Championships will be held from March 28th to April 3rd.